The Islas Marías Federal Penal Colony was a penitentiary establishment of the Federal Government of Mexico, administered through the Federal Secretariat of Public Security. It is located on Isla María Madre, the northernmost and largest island in the Marías Islands archipelago off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Built in 1905, under the government of Porfirio Díaz, the prison of las Islas Marías was "the pride of the government" becoming the most modern prison model of its time, "escape proof", which operated as an alternative to house the delinquents, who due to their profile and background, could not be held in the prison of Lecumberri. Until 1950, this prison colony was known as a feared detention center, due to violence, disease, and forced labor. It is calculated that the total number of prisoners to be housed there is above 29,000. During the government of Ernesto Zedillo, the government decided to modernize the prison system and Islas Marias was deactivated. On 27 November 2003, it was declared a biosphere reserve but with the prison system still existing. The prison situation in Mexico became so critical that the government announced in 2004 that they were reactivating the Islas Marias prison to transfer 2,500 prisoners from prisons all over the country. On 18 February 2019, Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, signed a declaration closing the federal prison on the Islas Marías, saying he wanted to promote "more schools and fewer prisons". Famous prisoners Islas Marias Federal Prison was home to some well-known prisoners including: Elias Breeskin, famous Russian violinist Ramón Mercader, Leon Trotsky’s assassin José Revueltas, novelist, "Los Muros de Agua" Concepción Acevedo "Madre Conchita", Nun Prison escapes The prison has had at least 76 escapes in the last 25 years of which 29 took place in 1986 alone. According to newspaper reports the causes are minimum vigilance, shortage of guards and equipment. Among the most dangerous to escape were criminals sentenced for drug trafficking, 28 murderers, and kidnappers. Of the 76 escapees from the Islas Marías only 10 have been recaptured. According to one source 95% of the escapes are due to corruption. On 25 October 1986, an entire family of kidnappers escaped. The Reyes Servín brothers, from Michoacán, have never been caught. On 16 January 2006, three drug dealers managed to escape. These were José Abraham González Salas, Fernando Méndez del Fierro and Luis Rey López Barrera. González Salas and Méndez